No Hiding Place

Detective Superindentent Lockhart of Scotland Yard had begun his television career in 1957 in the series Murder Bag before being promoted in 1959 to another ATV series Crime Sheet.

Later that year actor Raymond Francis was given his own series which would outlive it's rivals by several years. No Hiding Place followed the exploits of Detective Chief Supt Lockhart as he worked his way through over 280 cases, many of which were transmitted live. By his side was Detective Sgt Baxter (Eric Lander), whose character proved so successful that he too was given his own series Echo Four Two, before returning to his chief's side when that series failed to take off.

Raymond Francis on the cover of TV Times - 1965

When Baxter moved on yet again, replacements Russell (Johnny Briggs -later to star in Coronation Street as Cockney wide-boy Mike Baldwin), and Perryman (Michael McStay) were introduced, with Det Sgt Gregg (Sean Caffrey) added at a later date. Due to its authenticity the show was immensely popular with the public and police alike, to such an extent that when it was taken off in 1965 public pressure forced the producers to extend DCI Lockhart's career by another two years.

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Published on January 14th, 2019. Written by Laurence Marcus for Television Heaven.